Rick Spielman slouched comfortably at a table in the Vikings’ offices Tuesday, perhaps a rare time to exhale before the storm approaches.

In the coming months, the Vikings’ vice president of player personnel will sort out plans for at least 17 free agents, acquire a stable of draft picks to refresh an aging team and decide on a potential franchise quarterback.

The burden on Spielman’s shoulders has swelled since last offseason, when the team had 22 returning starters and could draft for the future.

The impending lockout has blurred the free-agency timeline, amplifying the need for draftees who can help quickly. Meanwhile, nearly half the Vikings’ starters from last season are age 30 or older.

Spielman’s plan for restoring the roster after last year’s 6-10 finish is now in full swing. The team’s college scouts are in town this week, the personnel department has made initial evaluations on more than 700 players, and Spielman said all but one player at last month’s Senior Bowl was interviewed after “one guy blew us off.”

“It’s exciting. It’s a challenge,” said Spielman during a roundtable interview with local media. “With so many guys potentially not being here next year, these guys are going to have to step up and fill in and play for you.”

The first order of business is deciding whether to use the franchise tag before its availability expires on Feb. 23.

Linebacker Chad Greenway and wide receiver Sidney Rice are the Vikings’ most high-profile free agents and prime candidates for the franchise tag, a one-year contract that pays the average of the league’s top five salaries at their respective positions.

Each NFL team can use one franchise tag and one transition tag, which pays the average of the top 10 players at their position.

Spielman said a determination would be made before the deadline.

“We’ve always done a very good job of keeping our core of young talent,” Spielman said. “Those guys we want to have back on this roster, and we want to keep our youth on this roster.”

As the roster stands, the Vikings still have key pieces that eventually can contribute to a playoff team, especially on offense.

Running back Adrian Peterson, wide receiver Percy Harvin and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe are under contract for next season.

But uncertainly looms at several positions, starting with quarterback. With two career starts as a rookie, Joe Webb is the only returning quarterback with experience.

Allen might be the only returning starter on the defensive line’s opening-day roster as Ray Edwards and Pat Williams face free agency and the Williamses could face a four-game suspension for failing a drug test in 2008.

Injuries and age plagued the offensive line, and last season’s defensive backfield was erratic at every position but Winfield’s.

Spielman acknowledges the roster likely will undergo a massive overhaul.

“We’re going to be a younger team for sure going into next season,” Spielman said. “Rookies are going to get forced into action. They are going to have to step up and play. I also have a lot of confidence in our coaching staff and their history of developing young guys and getting them ready.”

Whether the Vikings pick a quarterback with the No. 12 overall selection will drive the conversation until late April.

It’s uncertain whether Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert or Auburn’s Cam Newton will fall to No. 12, and they might be the only two quarterbacks worthy of a first-round grade.

Spielman makes it clear the Vikings are encouraged by Webb, who threw for 477 yards and three interceptions in four games and two starts.

“I think the quarterback thing is the biggest question,” Spielman said. “We’re looking at all avenues. Is there anyone in free agency, if there is a free agency, that you can fill a hole? Is there anyone from a trade aspect, if there are trades, that you can go down that route? We’re in this process of this draft right now. Do you feel very strongly about any of these kids in the draft where you want to take on at 12 if you’re still there at 12? Or is the draft that deep where you maybe go into the second and third rounds and just go with the best available player at 12?”

The Vikings will emphasize talent and fit with the 12th pick, whether that involves a quarterback, a safety or a linebacker.

The Packers’ transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers is an ideal way to bridge the quarterback gap, Spielman said: develop a young quarterback behind the scenes for a couple of years while a veteran starts.

But the Vikings don’t have a veteran in place, and if they acquire one via a trade or free agency, that player might have to accept the role of being a two-year stopgap.

All major personnel decisions will be decided “hand-in-hand” between Spielman and coach Leslie Frazier, something Spielman said will go smoothly based on their early interactions.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Sports

Nate Mason rolled down his sock and pulled up the cuff his compression pants to reveal a big bruise on his right shin during pregame warmups Wednesday at Williams Arena. The blue mark — from being tripped late in Monday’s loss to rival Wisconsin — was the latest hurdle of adversity heading into the senior guard’s final game at the...

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The final season of the franchise-record contract the Minnesota Twins gave Joe Mauer has begun, bringing with it the inevitable questions about his future. For now, before any such decisions must be made by the front office or the soon-to-be-35-year-old first baseman, Mauer has found himself in a reflective mood. He has started his 17th major...

There weren’t many positives to pull out of the Timberwolves’ home loss to Houston in the days leading up to the all-star break, the exception being the play of Minnesota’s starting point guard. Jeff Teague finished with 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds while taking 15 shots from the field. He was assertive but not selfish, a trademark of...

Safety Ken Handy-Holly has made a decision to leave the Gophers football team, a school spokesman said. The freshman from Jackson, Ala., had 12 tackles, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble in eight games last season. He had his redshirt removed after Antoine Winfield Jr., was injured in the Big Ten opener against Maryland on Sept. 30. Handy-Holly was rated...

Red Wing’s Taylor Heise had a high school hockey career for the books. The Gophers commit netted 67 goals this season and has more than 200 for her career. But she couldn’t get much of anything going in Wednesday’s Class A quarterfinal against Proctor/Hermantown, and neither could her teammates. The unseeded Mirage suffocated third-seeded Red Wing with physical play and...